Persona 4: The Demon Inside
by JamesFames
Summary: Bryce Orochi, a young man with a troubled past, comes to Inaba for a fresh start. But when terrible murders started occurring in this once peaceful town, Bryce finds himself teaming up with several other Persona Users to solve this mystery, while keeping his inner demon under control. Can Bryce exercise his demon? Or will he succumb to the Ripper within?
1. Chapter 1

Persona 4: The Demon Inside

Chapter One: Arriving in Inaba

A lone figure walked through the darkness, carrying what seemed like a larger-than-average butcher's knife, his boots stepping across the various bloodied corpses in his path, his silver trench coat flapping loosely. He wore what looked like a black top hat with silver lining that hid his face, a loose grey shirt and a pair of baggy black pants. The figure walked onward, then stopped, before looking around, seeing all the bodies of various kinds.

Then he started laughing like a maniac, as if it were the funniest thing ever, his dark red eyes shining from underneath his hat.

* * *

Bryce Orochi woke up with a sharp gasp, breathing heavily, as he hastily looked about his surroundings; he was sitting inside a room in the train compartment.

Letting out a tired sigh, Bryce laid back in his seat, looking out the window at the sight of the town the train was approaching the Yasoinaba train station.

After the train came to a stop at the station, Bryce gathered his suitcase and took one last look in the mirror; he was of average height and a relatively slender build, short jet-black hair that reached his shoulders and amber eyes.

Taking hold of his suitcase, Bryce rose from his seat and exited his compartment and exited the train, stepping out onto the station platform and looked around, the various people walking about; some coming and going from the train, while others were coming and going to the station.

Suitcase in hand, Bryce made his way down the street, passing by several people reaching various destinations, as he arrived at his own destination; a large apartment complex with a pool inside. Taking a breath, Bryce walked inside to the comforting atmosphere of the lobby, walking up to the front desk.

"Welcome, young sir." The clerk greeted with a bow. "Do you have a reservation?"

Giving a silent nod, Bryce handed the clerk a piece of paper. After looking it over, the clerk looked up with a smile.

"Ah, I see." He said. "Very well. Your room will be on the second floor, first room to your right."

After getting his keys, Bryce went up a floor and stopped at the door. Unlocking the door with the key given to him, Bryce entered the room, greeted by a welcoming atmosphere of the room. There was a balcony with a nice view of the town. Inside the room was a couch near the door to the balcony with a coffee table in front of it, a kitchen area across from the living area, a door that leads to the bathroom, another door that leads to the bedroom, and a flat-screen TV hooked on the wall in front of the couch.

Letting out a tired sigh, Bryce placed his luggage next to the couch and yawned. After a long trip, he decided to turn in early. After a quick shower and changing into a pair of black shorts and a white sleeveless t-shirt, he simply fell on the couch and dozed off.

* * *

Several hours had passed, and Bryce was still passed out on the couch. It was raining hard tonight. Suddenly, the TV started blaring to life.

Waking up to the sound, Bryce looked to see the TV lighting up, a look of confusion on his face. In between the flashes, he could see a young woman with short black hair and brown eyes, a scared look on her face, running for her life from some dark monstrosity.

Curious, Bryce walked up to the TV and reached out. As he tapped a finger against the screen, however, he was surprised to see the screen rippled a bit. Shaking his head and rubbing his eyes, Bryce looked at the TV again, back to normal.

'Am I tired…?' Bryce thought. 'I must be seeing things…'

Looking over, he looked at the clock on the wall. It was only 3 o'clock in the morning.

'I should try to get back to sleep.' Bryce thought with a soft sigh.

After preparing his bed, he slipped under the covers and fell back asleep, but failed to notice an image on the TV; a Shadow with a top hat and red eyes, grinning wickedly.

* * *

**As you can see, this is the start of my new story set in the world of Persona 4, with several changes. Don't worry; I'm still gonna work on my Persona 5 story; I just wanted to give this one a try and see how it goes. Special thanks to my friend, LightSpecter141, for his contributions and suggestions for this story, for he has been a huge help for me. Anyways, let me know what you guys think so far and I apologize for it being so short. Hopefully, it'll be much longer in the next chapter! Anyways, stay tuned for more and don't forget to review!**


	2. Chapter 2

Persona 4: The Demon Inside

Chapter Two: Into The Shadow World

The next morning came, as Bryce woke up to the rise of the morning sun, or the sun would be shining, had it not started raining. Yawning as he stretched, Bryce grabbed some clothes and dressed up in a pair of faded black jeans, silver shoes, a red t-shirt with purple linings, a silver leather jacket and a red beanie, grabbed his backpack and left his apartment. He then walked outside and down the street, seeing several young teenagers in high school uniforms, no doubt heading for school, as he walked the path, not quite sure on where he was going. Perhaps he was hoping to find the store, or maybe get a lay of the land.

With no destination in mind, Bryce simply walked on, hands in his pockets, when he took notice of a young man on a yellow bicycle, struggling to keep his balance with an umbrella in one hand, but that soon came to an end when he comically crashed, groaning in pain. Bryce took notice of the boys unkempt fawn colored hair and a pair of red headphones.

Seeing that no one was stopping to help him, Bryce walked up and helped the boy up, picking up his umbrella and holding it over him.

"You okay?" He casually asked.

"Yeah… I think so…" The boy groaned, before straightening himself up. "Thanks for the help!"

Suddenly, the boy gasped before hastily rummaging through his school bag, before pulling out a small DVD case. Opening it up, he cried out in despair.

"Oh nooooo!" He groaned. "The CD's cracked! Oh man, Chie's gonna kill me!"

As the boy groaned, Bryce thought for a moment, and taking note of the CD case cover, before reaching into his own bag and pulled out a similar CD case.

"Here, take it." Bryce said with a blunt tone.

Taking a moment to snap out of his bemoaning, the boy looked at him with confusion.

"You serious, dude?" He asked.

"Sure, why not?" Bryce said with a shrug. "'Sides, I'm a not big fan of action movies anyway."

Taking a moment to process this, the boy simply nodded and practically snatched the case.

"Thanks man!" The boy said with a smile. "You really saved my bacon!"

"Don't mention it." Bryce shrugged. "Just tell her what happened and that you got her a new one."

"Okay, I will!" The boy nodded again. "Thanks again! I'm Yosuke Hanamura, by the way!"

"Bryce Orochi." Bryce responded simply, before leaving, not even waiting for the boy to excuse himself.

* * *

The next day came by, Bryce stopped by a large shopping mall with a massive sign saying 'Junes' on the front of the building. Bryce walked into the food court and took a seat at one of the tables, taking a moment to collect himself. Leaning back in his chair, Bryce looked up at the clouds, which have cleared up a bit, before thinking about how he came to Inaba.

He remembered his time back in Iwotodai, when he was a part of a different group of friends. These friends would free him from the chains that kept him confined inside the asylum of Tatsumi Port Island, before taking him in, despite how he was. After several years, it was ultimately decided that Bryce would be sent away to start a new life, where he could be free to be whoever he wanted, to live however he wanted.

But he didn't know where to start.

"Excuse me?"

Snapping out of his trance, Bryce looked up to see a young girl with thick, long, wavy light-brown hair and brown eyes standing next to the table. She wore a long-sleeved white shirt, faded blue jeans, navy shoes and a Junes apron. Bryce assumed that she must be an employee.

"Pardon me, sir," She said politely. "But I've never you around here before. Are you new?"

Bryce took several notes of her that he noticed; the tired eyes and the dark circles around them, the messy locks in her hair. She must be tired.

"Yeah, you can say that." Bryce said with a shrug. "Bryce Orochi."

"I'm Saki Konishi." The girl said with a friendly smile. "Nice to meet you!"

Despite how tired she appeared, Bryce could sense some kindness from her.

"So, what brings you to Inaba?" Saki asked.

"Just looking for a fresh start." Bryce shrugged. "Just recently moved here from Iwotodai."

"You don't say." Saki mused. "You must've had some interesting things to do there."

"Not anything good, believe me," Bryce told her. "That's why I moved here."

"Ah, I see." Saki nodded, before checking her watch. "Well, I'd better get back to work. Talk later?"

"Maybe." Bryce shrugged.

After Saki walked off, Bryce soon got up and left, looking to return to his own apartment.

* * *

A few days had passed, as Bryce sat on the couch in his apartment, flipping through the newspaper. With his current disposition, it would be wise to find a job to pay for rent if he'd wish to stay in the apartment, so he wouldn't have to rely on an outside source. But so far, he had no luck. His best chances would be to apply for part-time at Junes; maybe he'll run into that Saki girl again.

There was something else he noticed in the papers as well; an announcer, Mayumi Yamano, was found dead, hanging from an antenna.

"Sounds unusual," Bryce thought aloud. "Who could've done such a thing?"

Sighing, he set the paper aside and turned off the lights. Recently, he had heard a rumor about something called the 'Midnight Channel'. It was said to be an urban legend that if one sits in front of a blank TV screen at midnight while it was raining, their soul mate would appear.

While he wasn't interested in urban legends or myths, Bryce had nothing better to do, so he decided to try it out. The lights were out, it was raining out, so everything should be set. Standing in front of the TV, Bryce waited… and waited… and waited…

After what felt like almost hours, Bryce let out an annoyed sigh; nothing had happened after all.

Turning his back, he stopped when he noticed the TV came to life, making that weird sound again. Looking towards the screen, Bryce could see a certain image blinking back and forth; a young girl writhing in pain. Bryce couldn't help but feel some form of familiarity from this person…

Curious, Bryce stepped forward and simply taped the screen, making the screen ripple again. Pressing his hand against the screen, Bryce was surprised to see his hand sink into the TV! But before he could retract his hand, suddenly, another hand reached out from the screen and grabbed his wrist!

Shocked, Bryce tried to pull away, only to be pulled closer to the TV.

"Let me go!" He cried out.

Despite his best efforts, he was pulled screaming into the screen, an image of the red-eyed shadow reflecting on the screen, grinning like a maniac.

* * *

Bryce let out a small groan, as he began to stir. His eyes cracked open, his eyes widened at the sight of his surroundings; it looked like a padded cell in an asylum, meant to kept patients from hurting themselves by hitting their heads on the hard surface of the walls. Getting to his feet, Bryce took note of the straitjacket on the ground, along what looked like a restraint mask, two items that seemed to play a part in his childhood.

Stepping away from the two objects, Bryce pushed open the door, taking a peek into the barren hallway; there were several rusted gurneys scattered about, the floors stained with streaks of blood, sometimes puddles of blood, chains hanging from the ceilings.

Before he could act further, he heard what sounded footsteps, along with what sounded like metal scraping along the walls, and a burst of sadistic laughter, all of which was getting closer.

Panicking, Bryce found the strength to turn and run in the opposite direction, running down the halls as fast as he could, desperately trying to escape the coming threat. Running down several halls, rounding every corner and practically jumping down several flights of stairs, all the while the threat was maniacally laughing, Bryce finally reached what appeared to be the exit, practically throwing the doors open, almost knocking the doors off their hinges, and ran out, finally reaching outside and stopped to catch his breath, heaving heavily. Finally able to collect his bearings, Bryce looked up and was shocked to see that the place he ended up in was no longer Inaba; it looked more like the outside of 'that place', only the sky was a mike of red and black.

'What the hell is going on?!' Bryce thought to himself in disbelief. 'Am I losing my mind or something?!'

Suddenly, he heard that crazed laughter again.

"Where aaaaarrrrreeeee yyyooooooouuuuuuu, little duck?"

Not wasting any time, Bryce turned in the opposing direction of the asylum and running as fast as his legs could carry him, not daring to look back.

But if he did, he would have noticed the figure from his dreams, looking at him with a crazed smile and crimson eyes.

* * *

Bryce lost track of how long he wan. His legs were sore; his chest was aching from extended breaths, as he ran through the fog, following what looked like a bright light. As he ran through the fog, he finally stopped, taking in breath after breath. After getting breath in his lungs, Bryce took a moment to get a look at his surroundings; it appeared to be what looked like a TV studio, and it had several crosswalks leading off to parts unknown.

'What's going on here?' He thought to himself. 'What kind of place have I been dragged into?!'

Suddenly, he saw something move in the fog.

"Who-Who's there?!" He called out, trying not to sound scared.

The figure approached from the fog, and what looked like a life sized teddy bear approached, much to Bryce's disbelief. The figure looked like an anthropomorphic bear with blue fur, wearing a red and white jumpsuit-like clothing.

"What the hell is going on?" Bryce asked out loud.

"That's what I wanna know!" The bear replied. "Who are you…?"

There was a strong silence between Bryce's shock and the bear's confusion, before Bryce broke the silence.

"Pedobear!"

Yelling it out, Bryce fell on his butt, scrambling back some.

"Why are you screaming?" The bear asked, confused. "…And what's a 'pedobear'?"

On instinct, Bryce grabbed a nearby lead pipe and rose to his feet, holding his weapon in a fighting stance.

"Don't come near me!" He warned. "I know how to fight and I know how to do it well!"

"Whoa, calm down there!" The bear said in surprise, cowering back a bit. "No need to get violent!"

"I said stay back!" Bryce yelled. "Are you the one trying to kill me?!"

"What?! No!" The bear replied. "I'm the one who guided you through the fog with the light source!" He then stomped his stubby feet. "Now put your weapon down! I'm not going to hurt you!"

Though he still seemed wary, Bryce relaxed his stance and lowered his weapon slightly.

"You…guided me?" Bryce said, skeptical.

"Of course!" The bear said with a nod. "I saw that you seemed lost, so I used the light to guide you here!" He then smiled. "I'm Teddie, by the way. Who are you?"

"Bryce. Orochi." Bryce answered cautiously. "Where am I? What is this place?"

"This place has always been here," Teddie said. "It's where I live. It doesn't have a name." He then got serious. "But you need to leave right away! Someone's been throwing people in here and it's becoming a big headache."

"Throwing people in?" Bryce repeated with a raised brow. "What're you talking about?"

"Lately, I can tell someone's been throwing people in here." Teddie explained. "It's making this world more and more messed up…" He then frowned. "And when the fog lifts here, that's when the Shadows get violent!"

"Shadows?" Bryce repeated. "I think I'm familiar with that…"

"Which is why you need to leave!" Teddie insisted. "If the Shadows show up, you could end up in huge trouble!"

"Hold on a minute, what about the people who were thrown in here?" Bryce demanded. "If they were thrown in here and they couldn't get out, they might die! They need to be saved too!"

"It's too dangerous!" The bear protested. "You don't know-"

"How to defend myself?" Bryce finished, before holding up the lead pipe with confidence. "I've been trained in several ways of martial arts and swordsmanship. I know how to protect myself." He then frowned. "And besides, I doubt you'll be able to get them out by yourself; are you?"

The bear mulled this over for a bit, the looked up at Bryce.

"Well, if you're so certain, fine." He said. "But you're gonna need these!"

Reaching behind him, the bear then pulled out a pair of dark purple glasses, giving them to Bryce.

"What're these for?" He asked with confusion. "My eyesight's fine."

"Trust me, it'll help you see through the fog." Teddie insisted.

Shrugging, Bryce put the glasses on, and as Teddie said, the glasses made it look as though the fog wasn't even there.

"Whoa. Incredible." Bryce said in awe. "These really do help!"

"I can take you to where the last victim appeared, but you'd best be on your toes!" Teddie said seriously. "The Shadows here won't make it easy!"

"I'm ready for anything." Bryce nodded. "Now, lead the way!"

And with that, the two went down one of the walkways, intending to find the unfortunate victim.

* * *

**And so the second chapter is up! I think you guys can already tell what's gonna occur next, right?**

**Anyways, sorry again for the lack of updates. I've been busy with my two jobs, so it leaves me with almost no time for myself! But don't worry; I'm still gonna keep going with bringing you guys stuff to read, as I am dedicated to what I love to do!**

**So, thanks again for reading, and be sure to stay tuned for the next chapter! Don't forget to review!**


	3. Chapter 3

Persona 4: The Demon Inside

Chapter Three: A New Awakening

Bryce and Teddie went onward until they arrived at a new area; a place that seemed to resemble the shopping district.

"Why does this place look like the shopping district?" Bryce asked.

"Some weird places have appeared here lately." Teddie explained. "Things are getting so tangled; I dunno what to do…"

Nodding at this, Bryce took notice of how far Teddie stood from him.

"Hey, why're you standing so far away?" He asked, before getting serious. "You better not be planning on running off!"

"Of course not!" Teddie laughed nervously. "You just seem so confident in your capabilities; I'd just get in your way…"

Putting that aside, Bryce looked about the place, seeing that it was indeed an exact vision of the shopping district.

"It does look exactly like the shopping district to the north." Bryce remarked. "But why this place?"

"How should I know?" Teddie said. "This is reality for the one who's here."

'Sounds different from the Dark Hour," Bryce remarked in his head.

Walking a bit down the street, the two came upon what looked like the entrance to a liquor store, a red and black vortex at the doorway.

"This must be Konishi-san's family liquor store." Bryce remarked. "I think she said something about that once…"

Suddenly, several voices started echoing, much to Bryce's surprise.

"_I wish Junes would go under…"_

"_It's all because of that store…"_

_Oh, I heard that Konishi-san's daughter is working there."_

"_Oh my… How could she, with her family's business suffering like it is…?"_

"_I heard their sales have gone down because of Junes."_

"Just what is this…?" Bryce wondered, before turning to Teddie. "Hey, Ted! You said that this is reality for the people that come here, right? Is this Konishi-san's reality when she wandered in…?"

"Probably." Teddie said, unsure himself. "I only know about what's over here."

Putting that aside, Bryce turned towards the entrance to the store, then walked in, with Teddie following behind.

* * *

Inside, Bryce and Teddie saw a standard lobby, with several beer kegs stacked on top one another. Looking towards the center of the room, his eyes widened at the sight of Saki Konishi lying on the floor, her eyes closed.

"Konishi-san!" Bryce called out, running to her side, with Teddie close behind, as he got down on one knee and gently shook her. "Konishi-san, wake up!"

With a small groan, Saki began to stir, her eyes cracking open a bit.

"B-Bryce…" She moaned. "Where am I? What is this…?"

"Don't worry; you're gonna be fine." Bryce said, helping her up. "And I'm not sure myself of what's going on."

Looking around, Saki's eyes widened with shock at the sight of the room.

"Are we in my family's store?" She asked. "How did we get here?"

Before Bryce could reply, they heard a feminine laughter. Looking over, they saw what appeared to be an exact replica of Saki, except this one had unnatural yellow eyes and a demonic pitch in her voice, and some sort of dark aura around her.

"What is this?" Bryce asked aloud, unsure of what to make of what he was seeing. "Two Saki's? I've never seen anything like this before!"

"Am…Am I dreaming?" Saki stuttered.

"Is that what you think?" The Shadow Saki said with a smug grin. "Always complaining about how your parents hate you, how everyone talks behind your back, how you have to endure working for the enemy. What a whiny bitch."

"That's not true at all!" Saki denied, covering her ears.

"You act like you care so much for them, even for that idiot Yosuke kid." The Shadow went on. "But deep down, we both know the truth; you can't stand either of them."

"Shut up!" Saki yelled angrily. "Leave Hana-chan out of this!"

"Why? We both know it's true." Shadow Saki laughed. "Admit it; you hate them both. That's why you were working at Junes in the first place; to save up enough money to leave this dead-end town, even if it earned you the wrath of your family. But you wanna know the best part; you enjoyed all the attention from it, especially from your precious Hana-chan. You enjoyed stringing him along like he had a chance with us. Hah! What a joke!"

"Shut up!" Saki yelled again. "Who do you think you are? Who are you?!"

"Why, I'm you." The Shadow said simply with a dark grin. "And you're me. I know everything about you!"

"LIAR!" Saki screamed at the top of her lungs. "You don't know ANYTHING about me! YOU'RE NOT ME!"

The Shadow simply responded with a mad laughter, making Bryce and Teddie uneasy.

"That's right!" Shadow Saki declared. "Say it again!"

"You're not me…" Saki said, her voice trembling. "You're nothing like me!"

Grinning like a madwoman, the Shadow laughed as a surge of energy coursed through her, as she began to transform before them. Where the Shadow once stood was a large multicolored slug, with a beer keg instead of a shell, and had wavy brown hair where her head was.

"I am a shadow, the true self." The Slug Shadow said in a demonic tone. "You will finally get what you want; to be left alone… in death."

Seeing that Saki was in a bad situation, Bryce stood in her defense, lead pipe in hand.

"You're not getting through me!" He shouted in defiance.

The Shadow simply laughed as it inched closer, Bryce holding his weapon at the ready, teeth clenched and eyes narrowed, before a voice called out in his head, causing a small ache inside.

"I am thou, thou art I." The voice called in a cool, almost serpent like tone. "The time has come. Open your eyes and call forth what is within."

The pain subsiding, Bryce saw a blue and black card floating in front of him, the front of the card glowing brightly. Sensing great power, Bryce couldn't help but grin.

"Per…So…"

As the Shadow prepared to strike, Bryce's eyes dilated.

"Na!"

Suddenly, there was a burst of power, making the Shadow stop in her tracks, as Bryce swung his weapon, shattering the card, and a blue flame surrounded him, as he let out a roar, and a large pale figure emerged from the flame; the figure had a snake like appearance was very pale, had golden eyes with slitted pupils, purple markings around his eyes and long black hair, and fang-like teeth. He wore plain grey garbs with a black polo and pants underneath, a thick purple rope belt tied in a large knot behind his back, blue tomoe-shaped earrings, and shinobi sandals with bandages around his calves. He also had two large white snakes wrapped around his arms.

The Persona, Orochimaru, grinned madly, as Bryce looked up and did the same. Now he was ready for a fight.

* * *

**Play Divide by Disturbed.**

* * *

The Shadow lunged forward, unleashing what appeared to be a psychic attack, sending Bryce flat on his butt, the Shadow laughing loudly.

Cursing silently, Bryce got to his feet and swung his weapon, smacking the Slug in the chest, though it didn't seem to do much damage. The Shadow unleashed what looked like a hail of multiple mud balls towards him. Bryce managed to jump out of the way of several of the mud balls, even batting several away, only to be struck in the head with one of them, dazing him a bit.

"Is this the best you can do?" The Shadow laughed. "How pathetic!"

Growling, Bryce shook off the dizziness, but heard Orochimaru's voice call from within.

"With your current strategy, you are doomed to failure." The Persona said. "Use my power to strike down your foe."

Taking his Persona's words to heart, Bryce made the card appear before him, then swung his lead pipe, shattering the card and the Persona appearing behind him, his long, purple tongue sticking out as he unleashed an a twin fang attack from his snakes, dealing significant damage to the Shadow.

"That hurt!" The Shadow whined.

"Now to make the Shadow suffer from its weakness." Orochimaru said with a menacing grin. "Now, unleash my magic!"

Nodding, Bryce repeated his card shattering pose, his Persona unleashing a stinging blue magic attack, sending the Shadow crashing against the ground. Taking advantage of the Shadows weakness, Bryce repeated the process several times, while doing his best to dodge the Shadows attacks, before the Shadow let out a roar and unleashed a barrage of tendrils.

A look of determination on his face, Bryce dashed forward, jumping and dodging the tendrils, even ninja running on some of the tendrils. Getting closer, Bryce readied his weapon, letting out a battle cry, then swung as hard as he could, making the Shadow squeal in pain before crumbling to the ground.

* * *

**Song ends.**

* * *

The battle over, Bryce looked up at his Persona, as he looked down at him, that same mad grin on his face, before it turned into a gentle smile, then the Persona bowed, before reverting back to his card form, vanishing before his very eyes.

"What was that…?" Bryce asked aloud in surprise. "Was that my new Persona?"

"Wowie, that was amazing!" Teddie exclaimed with glee, standing next to Bryce. "I must say, Bryce-sensei, you sure showed me what you can do!"

"Uh…thanks?" Bryce said awkwardly, before quickly recovering. "Well, now that that's out of the way, let's check up on Konishi-san!"

The Shadow defeated, the two went over to check on Saki, who was struggling to her feet.

"Konishi-san, are you okay?" He asked.

"I-I'm okay…" She said. "Just a little weak in the knees is all."

"Try not to stand up too fast." Teddie advised. "Otherwise, you might get sick!"

"Huh…?" Saki looked at Teddie with some confusion. "A talking bear?"

With Bryce helping her up, Saki looked at her Shadow Self, on her knees, a sad look on her face.

"You… You're not who I am…" She said weakly.

"Konishi-san, listen to me," Bryce said calmly. "I know it's hard, but you must accept your other self."

Saki looked at him, expecting an explanation.

"I know it's not easy, accepting the uglier side of yourself." Bryce explained. "Seeing all that ugliness, all that darkness. But that doesn't have to define who you are as a person. There's nothing wrong with accepting your past self. That means that you acknowledge it once existed and that you're working to better yourself." He then gestured to himself. "Trust me; I know."

"That was… Beautiful, Bryce." Teddie sniffed warmly.

Taking a moment to process this, Saki looked over at her Shadow, who still looked disheartened, and she felt sorry for her. Deep down, she knew that her Shadow was at least partially right.

"I understand." She nodded, before approaching her Shadow. "You're right; I'm a terrible person. But that's doesn't mean I can't change." She looked her Shadow in the eyes. "You're me, and… I'm you. We're one and the same."

With a genuine smile, Shadow Saki vanished in a flash of light, and in its place stood a humanoid female wearing a psychedelic dress and knee high boots, with wavy blonde hair and horns in the place of her eyes. The Persona, Tsunade, faded into a card, which floating into Saki's hands. With a grasp of her new Persona, Saki lost her balance and stumbled backwards, but Bryce was able to catch her, helping her up.

"That really is how I feel." She admitted weakly. "I was just too scared to admit it…"

"Konishi-san…" Bryce spoke up, remembering that injured student he had met several days prior.. "That Yosuke kid… Do you reciprocate his feelings?"

Taking a moment to process this, Saki sighed.

"No, of course not." She answered.

"Then you must tell him." Bryce advised. "Leading someone on is way worse than any breakup."

"I know, you're right." She sighed. "I just can't believe I'm being consoled by a stranger." She said that last part with a slight chuckle.

"Well, I guess we could be friends now, huh?" Bryce smiled back.

"Well, with that out of the way," Teddie declared. "We should really get you two out of here! The Shadows get very restless when the fog lifts on this side, and you two must be pretty exhausted!"

In agreement, the trio left the Shadow of the liquor store, but as they were taking the route back, Bryce was in deep thought.

'Learning to better oneself, huh…' He thought to himself. 'Hearing that come from me must make me the biggest hypocrite on this Earth…'

* * *

Back in the asylum, the trench coat wearing figure walked the halls, several blades scraping along the walls, as he sighed.

"Ooooh, I'm ever soooo booooorrrrreeeeed." He said aloud, his boots clopping against the bloodstained floor. "Even the Shadows here provide no sort of entertainment…"

Just as he said that, he stopped as a Shadow Slime crawled at his feet, both looking up and down respectively. After several seconds, the Shadow transformed into a Lying Hablerie, the creature licking its lips eagerly, while the figure simply watched impassively. The Shadow launched forward, only to be caught by a metal hand with ease. Throwing the Shadow against the floor, the figure then proceeded to press his boot against the Shadow's mask, then squashed it, shattering the mask.

Sighing, the figure then came upon the warden's office. Curious, the figure entered, finding a chair against a desk with a TV sat on top of it. Turning the dial several times, the figure saw Bryce on the screen, as well as Saki and Teddie.

"How interesting." The figure chuckled, before taking a seat and propping his feet up on the desk. "Well, let's see what you're up to, old friend."

* * *

**And so, Bryce saves Saki and they both have Persona's, not to mention the bad guy is watching, creepy! Sorry for taking so long, I've been sick with the flu for a while; I should be feeling better by Wednesday. Then again, I'll be busy again with my two jobs. Oh well. Anyways, hope you guys enjoyed the new chapter! Be sure to review!**


	4. Chapter 4

Persona 4: The Demon Inside

Chapter Four: Let's Call It A Day

Bryce helped Saki through the district, as Saki was still having trouble walking straight after what happened, with Teddie following close behind, before reaching the entry point.

"Are you okay?" Bryce asked her.

"I guess so." Saki nodded half-heartedly. "I just feel tired out."

"It's understandable, given the nature of this world." Bryce remarked. "This place must be draining for anyone that enters here." Helping her sit down in a chair, Bryce gave a serious look. "Tell me; do you know how you got here? Who through you in?"

"I…don't remember…" Saki frowned. "I remember being called in by some creepy looking detective for questioning, then the next thing I knew, I ended up here."

"Why were you questioned by the police?" Bryce asked.

"Because I found the announcer lady's body," Saki explained. "Haven't you heard? That announcer, Mayumi Yamano, was found dead, hanging from an antenna."

"I've read about it in the paper once." Bryce shrugged. "Now that you mentioned it, I did see someone on TV when I first moved in." He said, bringing a finger to his chin. "A woman seemed to be running from some black monstrosity." A thought suddenly came to him, then he turned to the bear. "Hey, Teddie. You said that this place is reality for people that enter, right? The shopping district, that liquor store… Did they exist because Saki entered this place and it became her reality?"

"I'm not sure…" Teddie said. "It's never happened before. But that's probably where they were when the Shadow's attacked them. The fog lift's here sometimes and that's when the Shadows get really violent. I always get so scared; I run and hide when that happens!"

"So wait, let me get this straight," Saki spoke up. "That announcer that showed up on the news must've been thrown in here. And since she couldn't get out, she wondered around." She then frowned. "After a while, that Shadow thing came out of her. The fog cleared, it went berserk and ended up killing her. Is that right?" She shivered a bit. "So if you guys hadn't shown up…"

"You would've ended up like that announcer on the news." Bryce nodded. "You were lucky that Teddie and I were here when we were."

"That Yamano lady must've been so scared and alone," Saki said in a sad tone. "But why was she killed?"

"I'm not sure," Bryce said. "But they clearly had intentions to do the same to you."

"But why?" Saki asked, a bit shaken. "What did I do to deserve being killed?"

"Do you know anything that the killer might not want to be made public?" Bryce asked. "Any reason they would want to hurt you?"

"I swear I have no idea," Saki said. "All I did was find a dead body! I didn't do anything wrong!"

"So why would they target you?" Bryce grumbled. "This doesn't make sense…"

Silence hung over them before Teddie spoke up.

"Well, with that outta the way, you two need to get out of here!" Teddie said. "Quickly, before the Shadows find you!"

"Do you know a way out of here?" Bryce deadpanned. "We were both unlucky enough to find the way in, but I don't know about the way out."

"Don't worry; I'll let you out!" Teddie said cheerily.

Standing at the center of the stage, Teddie tapped his foot against the floor several times before a set of three TVs stacked on top one another appeared in a puff of smoke. Curious, Bryce approached the set with Saki beside him. Before they could ask, Teddie had already shoved them in.

* * *

Bryce and Saki found themselves tumbling out of the large television screen and onto the floor.

"Ouch! That hurt." Saki groaned, rubbing her head.

Looking back, however, she nearly jumped out of her skin, seeing that she had fallen on top of Bryce. But her face also turned bright red, as she saw that her behind was planted right on top of his…

"OH!" She nearly screamed as she scrambled to her feet, backing up. "I'm so sorry! I didn't mean for that to happen!"

Bryce simply remained silent as he rose to his feet, gave Saki a blank stare for a moment, then simply, and calmly, dusted himself off, specifically the chest area where Saki was planted, before stuffing his hands into his coat pockets.

"If you were a random stranger, I'd sock you in the jaw." He calmly said, making Saki cringe. "But you're not; you're a victim of circumstances, so I won't stoop that low."

With a sigh of relief, Saki took a moment to take in the familiar surroundings.

"Wait, isn't this…" Saki said, her eyes widened a bit. "The electronics section of Junes?"

Looking around, Bryce could confirm that she was right, seeing the various electronics lined up on the many shelves.

"It certainly looks like it." He nodded, before turning back to the TV. "Looks like we can go back whenever we'd like…"

"Right now, I'm exhausted." Saki sighed. "I'm gonna head home."

"Can you get home on your own?" Bryce asked.

"Yeah, I think I'll be fine." Saki nodded. "After what happened, I think I can rest easy."

"Just remember what we talked about," Bryce said.

"Don't worry, I'll talk to Yosuke," Saki assured, then made for the doors out, before looking back at Bryce. "Thanks for your help."

After she left, Bryce couldn't help but let a small smile emerge from his lips, then left the building, and despite feeling exhausted from the Other World, he felt glad to have saved a life.

* * *

Later that night, the town was covered in a thick layer of fog. The streets were empty, except for a shadowy figure that stood a street corner.

"How interesting." The figure said to himself. "It seems a new player has joined the fun."

* * *

**Sorry for this chapter being short, but I didn't have much for this chapter besides the obvious. Also, no doubt some of you guys have no doubt already played through the game already, so I'm gonna be skipping ahead to certain parts, like Bryce and Saki's interaction with the Investigation Team.**

**Again, sorry for the short chapter, and if it seemed rushed, but I hope you enjoyed this little Christmas present and stay tuned for more. Be sure to review!**


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